The View From Down Here #51

On a personal note, it’s been a big weekend for me, with my son competing in (and winning) his first gymnastics competition, and the Gymwits having another performance, so I apologise in advance for the lack of real depth in the report this week. Like there’s any real depth any way, I know, but these things do happen…

CricketEnglish TourNext match sees Australia face the England Lions in a four-day-er. This is a good warm-up match and going into it, most said Australia would have their work cut our forcing a win in just four days.
Australia 358 & 4 (dec)/438; England Lions 352 & 4/162
Match drawn.
Australia’s bowlers still seem to lack a bit of bite, but the batsmen finally seem to have their eyes in., especially Marcus North whose unbeaten 191 in the second innings (after a first innings failure) showed some great class and maturity.

Australian Rules FootballAFL Round FourteenThis week has been billed as the ‘Clash of the Titans’, but it was also a sad week for AFL fans with news that former Melbourne player and chairman Jim Stynes has cancer. Everyone’s best wishes go to not only Jim but also his family. He is a true gentleman of the game and way too young.
Collingwood 15.12 (102) def Essendon 9.13 (67)
With the AFL making it as easy as possible, expect Collingwood to win more than they lose for the rest of the year, and then crash in the finals.
Melbourne 17.10 (112) def West Coast 13.14 (92)
Melbourne said they did it “for Jim Stynes”, but they’ll need to keep on doing this if their hopes of rebuilding are going to be seen as anything more than hollow words.
Port Adelaide 19.14 (128) def Brisbane 11.14 (80)
At times, this was quite the spiteful game, but Port came out of it with their pride intact and are suddenly back in the running for a finals spot.
Richmond 13.7 (85) def by Adelaide 15.12 (102)
And Adelaide are also being seriously considered a threat after this convincing win.
Western Bulldogs 19.19 (133) def Hawthorn 6.9 (45)
Hawthorn won the flag last year? Really? They have now said their goal is not the flag this year. That’s good.
Sydney 15.10 (100) def North Melbourne 13.7 (85)
Maybe Sydney don’t need Barry Hall (currently suspended) and all the distractions he brings… Just a thought.
St. Kilda 14.7 (91) def Geelong 13.7 (85)
And it all came down to this. The battle of the current heavyweights. Was it worth the hype? Well, the close result indicates it sure was – one straight kick between them. And Geelong fought to the end, as did St Kilda. But as games go, it was not the greatest spectacle. But I expect the grand final to a replay of this match, and then watch it all hang out. However, if you can find somewhere to catch this match you will not be disappointed.
Fremantle 15.10 (100) def by Carlton 16.19 (115)
A home defeat to Freo. Not the result they would have wanted against the up-and-down Carlton…SANFL Round FourteenCentral Districts 17.10 (112) def Norwood 15.5 (95)
Centrals may have started to get back on track with this result.
West Adelaide 7.3 (45) hammered by Sturt 22.9 (141)
All the good work of the past few weeks undone in one game…
Woodville-West Torrens 19.9 (123) def Port Adelaide 15.15 (105)
Quite a good game this one…
Glenelg 13.10 (88) def South Adelaide 9.8 (62)
And yet again Souths pushed one of the top sides all day but fell short. This does bode well for the future, but if it continues to happen like this, then they may well become despondent with always falling short and that will become their mind set and their norm…
Bye: North Adelaide

NetballRound FourteenLast round before the finals… wow, that came around quickly! And this round WILL shape the final placings. None are really settled yet. And, to top it off, a good round of games!
Steel 55 def Swifts 48
Steel had to win this one. Their win put the burden back on the Firebirds for fourth place, and the goal percentage required…
Vixens 80 def Pulse 39
A record score by the Vixens gave them the minor premiership going into the finals.
Thunderbirds 54 def Magic 35
Although the Thunderbirds were never going to overtake the Steel into second place, a loss could have seen the Steel take top spot and the Thunderbirds potentially slide to fourth. Instead Steel now go into the semi-final against Vixens having been defeated, while Adelaide are full of confidence heading into their own semi-final. Assuming the Vixens and Adelaide win their respective semis, the second week of the finals will see Adelaide take on the Steel again to see who faces the Vixens in the grand final. And after this result, my money is on the Adelaide Thunderbirds to go through to the big one. As to who’ll win that… I’ll decide after the next two weeks.
Tactix 63 def Mystics 56
Game did not mean anything in the end except pride.
Fever 52 def by Firebirds 54
Not enough to get the Firebirds into the final series…
So our two semi-finals now look like this:
Semi-final 1: Melbourne Vixens v Waikato-Bay Of Plenty Magic (in Melbourne)
Semi-final 2: Adelaide Thunderbirds v Southern Steel (in Adelaide)

TennisWimbledon
Roger Federer def Andy Roddick 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 16-14
I’m only including this (and not the farce that was so-called women’s finals… when are those, er, ‘sisters’ going to be sex tested?) because of the fact Roger Federer has now overtaken Sampras as the winningest (I saw it on CNN, it must be a word!) Grand Slam winner, which to me is a good thing. While Americans love Sampras and all he did, Australians (with the notable exception of Rod Laver) have a bitter taste with the guy because he chose to use abuse as a tactic and as a way of dealing with loss, especially when beaten by an Australian. Sampras, to Australians, will always be a sore loser and a cry-baby. Yes, he has said that Federer is the better man, but I am betting there will be a time when he takes some side-swipe or pot-shot at the talented Swiss, friendship or not. Federer, on the other hand, comes across as some-one who is hard-working, wears his heart on his sleeve, and tells it like it is. Would he have won if Nadal had been there? Maybe, maybe not, but that is a moot point. The fact of the matter is, he won, he is now the all-time best, and so I say: Congratulations, sir!

Sporting MoronsAs I have been otherwise pre-occupied this week, I did not think anything here would capture my attention…
Wrong.Mark McVeigh (Essendon, AFL) – Suspended by his team after not being able to make training after a late-night bender with a former team-mate. And it appears this could cost him the captaincy next year Adrian Wallace (basketball) – ‘Succumbed’ to having sex with an 11 year old after serious knee injuries made him allegedly depressed. I’m not going to mention this further… Sandor Earl (Sydney Roosters, NRL) – Last week I mentioned Jake Friend. Well, he had a friend, some-one else involved in slapping around a woman at a night spot. I should have mentioned him last week, but didn’t (as Friend’s name was the only one in our local paper at the time). So here it is. Another big man Rugby league player who thinks beating on women is tough and man-like…
Now, as a side note here, a new survey this week in the magazine ‘Rugby League Week’ indicates that 60% of players are embarrassed at being involved in rugby league this year, 75% are scared of going out, and 25% say they know group sex participants. So, finally, the players realise there is something wrong.
But, hey, all that will be done will be a lot of lip service… or should I say, a lot more lip service.Tally: 31

Professional WrestlingRiot City Wrestling, July 4, 2009
I wasn’t there, I was performing, but here are the quick results from my mate BJ, who was there.
(1) Marvel def Danny Psycho with a Dragon-sleeper.
(2) Miami def Charmaine with the “Party Starter” (the Stroke). Savannah Summers was at ringside for Miami and even broke up a pinfall in Miami’s favour. However, Miami accidentally struck her later on and she was not happy.
(3) Del Taurino def Jim Raze with a Taurino-bomb from the second rope.
(4) Matt Silva no contest against TJ Rush when FuZion attacked TJ. After the match FuZion offered his hand to Silva but instead he and TJ went after FuZion.
(5) Voodoo def FuZion via Cannibal-destroyer. FuZion tried to leave the ringside area but TJ and Silva blocked his escape.
(6) Mimic def Grimm via DQ after Grimm hit a kneeling Mimic with a nasty chair shot. But as the title cannot change hands on a DQ, Grimm retained the title.